Australian coach Dav Whatmore showed that he is going to play an influential role in Pakistan cricket in the future as PCB and selectors today went for a revamp of policies while announcing the national squads for the coming tour to Sri Lanka.

The revamped policy decisions saw Misbah-ul-Haq removed as captain of the T20 squad and also dropped as a player for the format while allrounder and close friend, Mohammad Hafeez was not only appointed T20 captain but also given the position of being deputy to Misbah in tests and ODIs.

Hafeez's promotion and preference over former captains, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi confirmed that the board was ready to give Whatmore his say in cricket matters.

Insiders said that it was Whatmore and Intikhab Alam, an influential figure in the board and the head of the national cricket academy, who had backed Hafeez for the new roles although the PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf and chief selector, Iqbal Qasim were in favour of having Shahid Afridi as the T20 captain.

"The fact that for the first time in Pakistan cricket the selectors have announced separate squads for Tests, ODIs and T20 cricket with several changes in their line ups show that Whatmore is calling the shots.